It had become open season on City and their Abu Dhabi owner - and it reeked of prejudice.
Never can a proposed football transfer even one at a world record £100m have attracted so many acres of negative newsprint, hours of carping television footage and ranting radio air time as the now concluded Kaka saga.
Abu Dhabi's approach to business is quiet, considered and determined. They are low key and low profile and like it that way.
There is none of the brashness that sometimes comes with super wealth and power, but a firmness of resolve and recognition of local sensibilities.
They plan everything to the last detail and the move for Kaka is no different.
They knew and understood that they are were not trying to buy just a footballer, but a philanthropist and business whose interests can be jointly expanded globally.
The Abu Dhabi owners have been privately stunned by some of the reactions to the audacious bid that they almost pulled off - and remember that not once had they publicly commented on a transaction that was leaked from Milan not Manchester or the Middle East.
The Abu Dhabi owners are correct to feel aggrieved as much, if not most, of the coverage of the Kaka bid has been relentlessly negative. Ignorant at best - jealous at worst.
Nonsense
Most of the arrant and arrogant nonsense came from uninformed sources and commentators that know little about City and their owners. Even less about the ins and outs of the detailed now doomed efforts to bring Kaka to Eastlands.
How easy it was for so-called Fleet Street experts to sit in their ivory towers and sling poisoned barbs at the newly-rich Eastlands.
Blues owner Sheikh Mansour, who saved a proud old top flight club from the jaws of administration when he bought it for £210m in the summer, was being summarily accused of everything from being morally redundant to ruining football - selling its traditions down the river, presumably in a burning Dhow.
"Look how many hospitals and schools you could build with that kind of money," is the tired refrain from those who have suddenly found some hitherto hidden morals.
Well, shock horror, it was not an Abu Dhabi Prince's job to improve the infrastructure of public life in this country - that is our government's duty and god knows they are experts at wasting cash.
In any case, everyone can rest assured that his billions do untold good for the people of his homeland.
Where was all this moralising and pontificating when Madrid were willing to pay £80m for Ronaldo who, whatever this year's poll may say, is an inferior all-rounder to Kaka who won that award himself in 2007.
Where is the rule that says only the English big four and Barcelona and Madrid can buy the best in the world?
Instead of carping and moaning about Sheikh Mansour and the use of his own private funds - there is no debt at City, unlike most of their gaping-mouthed rivals - perhaps all the naysayers should spend a moment or two thinking about the positives.
For a start, Milan were ecstatic that they may have been receiving £100m to rebuild an ageing team that is currently little better than City's and Sheikh Mansour was happy to hand over the fee.
Entertainment
The English game would have got yet another huge shot in the arm, every ground in the country where Kaka plays would have been full to the brim and the rights for the next television deal would have gone through the roof as fans all over the world tuned in.
Others big stars would no doubt have followed, making England the undisputed home of football.
Football is in the entertainment industry and all entertainers, whatever the sphere, know that leading men and women get more than the rest of the cast.
Those who poke fun at the manager saying he has no control over who is coming into City are speaking through their backsides.
Mark Hughes has been an integral part of a process that dates back months. Now the word from Eastlands is that Kaka was a one off so don't expect any further moves for a world-ranked superstar…not untilthe summer anyway.
He was at the meetings that set up the plan to build a side long-term that included seasoned internationals, home grown academy products and a sprinkling of superstars. He has had a voice at all stages since then.
City have a clear vision of how to develop a team that will find success and more importantly be able to repeat it year after year in the long term.
That is why top-class internationals Wayne Bridge and Nigel de Jong have been on their list of buys and why there will be huge on-going investment in the academy.
The Blues plan was to add Galacticos at a future date until it became clear that Kaka might be available earlier than expected so sparking a unique deal for a unique player.
Silly
Talk of City driving up prices to silly levels and travelling the world cherry-picking who they want are pure fantasy.
They have already walked away from deals where they have been asked £80m for players they think are worth less than one-third of that amount.
And to those who say there is no worth in buying your way to the title there is a two-word answer - Blackburn and Chelsea.
It is nothing new for clubs with rich owners to spend their fortune on their teams.
Not so, say the anti-City brigade that begrudges the Blues bettering themselves.
City should sweat, work and build to win anything they say.
Well, what do they think the club has been doing for 32 years?
No other side has sweated longer or more profusely and the jealous should stop carping at their current good fortune in having an owner that wants measured and sustainable success. City should be applauded for giving it a go. This time fortune didn't favour the brave. Tweet
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FANTASTIC ARTICLE !
Ahhhh...diddums!
Welcome to Bertie Smarts Massive-Top Circus.
well said the media and people who all seem hell bent on keeping the swamp dwellers as the only club that britain should have playing in any league have got there way. lets rally the troops and do what we always do best when we are in our darkest days let the fans stand up stick two fingers up to the establishment and get behind our wonderful club that is MANCHESTER CITY FC
Without doubt the best article I have ever read on this site!
Excellent article
excellent article Chris, I'm fed up of all of these people taking the moral high ground over this affair. I feel Milan and Berlosconi have manipulated my beloved City. We wanted go about business in a quiet way, it was their side who let the cat out of the bag. Eveybody had their own agenda without thinking it may not be about the money it maybe about a project to revive a pround historic club back upto where it belongs. As for Kaka, they're plenty more fish in the sea.
Top article Chris. Agree with every word. Just hope that Sheikh Mansour doesn't lose his enthusiasm for the task ahead. But what's the real story on Robinho?
Man Utd with £758 million debt (the biggest in world football) are looking fair set to take the title for a third successive season with a very expensively assembled squad including Carlos Tevez who apparently is not allowed to play for West Ham due to breaching Premiership rules on ownership but is absolutely fine to play for them without them owning his registration.
Liverpool and Chelsea, two other clubs with an apparenmtly divine right to qualify for the Champions League every season have also bought plenty of West Ham's star players over the years and are currently running debts of £350 million and £736 million respectively.
The Champions League had already ruined domestic football long before the Sheiks arrived.
One more thing, lets please not buy another overpriced prima donna from the Russian League. If Arshavin is only half as lightweight as Jo he will still be the second biggest waste of money ever to pull on the blue shirt.
To Mr Bertie Bailey,
''Madrid were willing to pay £80m for Ronaldo who, whatever this year's poll may say, is an inferior all-rounder to Kaka who won that award himself in 2007''
Here above lies your pathetic clubs problem, somehow contriving to have a dig at the BEST player on the planet, RONALDO.
Obsessed with competing with the Worlds greatest club and team.
It's never gonna happen, accept your humble station in life.
"How easy it was for so-called Fleet Street experts to sit in their ivory towers and sling poisoned barbs at the newly-rich Eastlands."
brilliant article Chris.
Well done.
Good to know I wasnt the only seeing the absolute nonsense coming out of the British mainstream media.
The Sheikh has a lot more class compared to the clowns running the media.
Brilliant article.100% spot on.MEN...Email this piece to every fleet st editor and manager of every professional football club in the country
Well said that man! Like many others, hope the Sheikh does not think we are all morons in England and get turned off our great club.
Well written Chris. I also liked what you had to say on Sky sports News last night too. Chin city , forward and onward.
What an outstanding article and think it sums up how every blue feels today.
Collymore/Jacobs,Porky Parry,Gordon Taylor,Nigel Lawrenson,all the Daily Mirror journos for starters please take note!
Thats why we are blue-we are unique and always will be!
Fantastic article, chris.
And thanks for trying to sign the best player in the world, city.
I hope we don't burn any bridges now because there's always the chance Milan won't qualify for the Champions League again next year?
My main hope now though is that the club doesn't implode - everyone at city will have believed this was a real possibility and now it hasn't happened how will everyone react?
Well said Chris Bailey
Message to Sheikh Mansour....buy one of the major UK media outlets sir. News International would be perfect as you would get both the Sun and the Sky. maybe then there will be a little less vitriol about what you are trying to do with our club
Good luck and thanks
Fleet Street Hacks are one thing, but worse still was Gordon Taylors disgraceful and completely mis informed rant on Sky Sports news yesterday. From a man holding an important position in the game, it just shows you what we are up against from all levels of the current establishment order.
Time for us to draw the wagons into a circle I think. The battering we are taking now will only make our ultimately hard won success even sweeter down the line.
Keep the Faith!
Chris Bailey's best ever effort.
These hacks and experts throwing up their arms in mock moral outrage has been truly sickening.
The day will come when people will understand exactly why players want to come to Man City.
Chris Bailey this is the best article on football I have read in years, you are absolutely spot on.
My friend in Milan advises of the annoyance over there when the Daily Mirror picture of Kaka in a City shirty was circulated.Today the Mirror continues to stir with tails of further unrest in the dressing room.
this is this by far the best comment article published so far, well done to the author, my feelings exactly.
City are scorned for attempting to buy sucess when the big 4 have had the self propelling monopoly for far too long.
All the backstabbers will love this and it may make us look stupid.But the FACTS ARE:that the kaka deal was signed and agreed 9 days ago,as now stated by kaka,milan then tried to move the goal posts because of the fans protests and the players protests.
This is not manchester citys fault at all and we move on.
Robinho has gone home as agreed to celebrate his birthday.
Great article sir.
Blues, we have got to stick together on this one,a bit of siege mentality. I have never known so much bile and jealousy in the media over the transfer of a footballer. I have come very close to booting in the TV and radio sets this past week or so, listening to the likes of Mark Lawrenson, Stan Collymore, David Beckham, Mike Parry, Ronni Irani etc, running down my club and talking through their backsides.
We will never know what has gone on with this Kaka circus or why Robinihio has gone back to Brazil, but Manchester City will survive all this. No one player is bigger than my club.
The likes of Kaka (not interested in money yet he earns millions a year and supposedly was in a strop cos City did n’t have his personal terms sorted!!) and Robinihio don’t know what our club is about. They are mercenaries. They can come and go, but there will always be a Manchester City.
We are unique, a club with soul. We will get it right eventually and will take our rightful place as the best team in the land and all the world.
City’s PR people have a lot to answer for. What do we pay these people? We should have got in there first with a press release that there was going to be no deal for Kaka. Some heads will be rolling with this one.
Future deals have to be conducted in a low profile manner cos the Kaka saga has not shown my club in a good light.
We’ve got to give Hughes a chance here, get him to build his team. The Brazilian are not needed, we should get shut of Jo and Elano, their attitude stinks and they don’t care.
We’ve got enough talent still to finish top 8 this season, hopefully with the likes of Sturridge, Weiss, Onouha all given the chance to impress.
Love and peace man
welcome to the party mr baily finally this our local paper finally comes out and tells it like it really is.this is what us fans have been banging on about for months now!you should sell this piece to all the london rags/not that they'd print it as it smack's of proof and would rain all over whatever agender these biased clubs seem to have.
As a Red, I appreciate that I am hardly in any position to criticise other clubs for the amount of money they spend on transfers, but with regard to this article, I think that the ownership of City was never the issue here. I think most people couldn't have given a monkeys whether City's owners were from Abu Dhabi or Derby. Fools like Mark Lawrenson can bleat about how the Kaka deal meant that football was losing its soul, but I think the real issue was simply that this deal would have underlined the fact that money, rather than skill or dedication or tactical nous has become the major factor that determines the success or failure of a football club. You can already mount a pretty convincing argument that this is indeed the case, but I think some people felt that the Kaka deal was rubbing everyone's face in the fact in a pretty ostentatious manner. For all the talk of 'projects' and plans, Kaka would only ever have been coming to City for one reason and I think a lot of football traditionalists are heartened by his decision to remain with Milan. Personally, I think the Kaka deal would have been a huge error of judgement on City's part anyway. It would have turned the club into a circus and made Mark Hughes' job even more difficult than it is already. If I were a City fan, I would say that signings like Bridge and De Jong are the way to go - I think you've been ripped off bigtime for Bellamy, though. Get the club into the top six or thereabouts, win one of the cups and have a good run in the UEFA Cup....then you can go after the marquee signings to take the club on to the next level. I think many of the City fans who are feeling a bit down about Kaka this morning will one day be grateful that he has decided to stay put - and I've no doubt that he will already be feeling the same!
Brilliant Mr Bailey. Simply brilliant.